Method and system for providing electronic universal incentive awards with blockchains

ABSTRACT

A method and system for providing electronic universal incentive awards processing with blockchains. Universal incentive award points are earned for academic (e.g., tutoring, homework completion, lab completion, project completion, etc.) athletic (e.g., watching sports events, participating in sports events, assisting with sports events, etc.), mentoring, volunteering, extra-curricular activities, clubs, community service and/or other selected activities. The universal incentive award points earned are stored in a blockchain. The blockchain allows the creation and use of universal electronic universal incentive award points with transparency, authentication, verification and fraud prevention. The universal incentive award points are immediately redeemable from the blockchain for goods and services. The incentive award points information can be immediately sent and received with wireless, contactless transfer of information.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This U.S. utility patent application claims priority from U.S.Provisional patent application No. 63/076,437, filed on Sep. 10, 2020,the contents of which are incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to incentive awards. More specifically, itrelates to a method and system for providing electronic universalincentive awards with blockchains.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is desirable to create an environment where all students can achievetheir future goals which are monitored through a universal incentiveaward points based program and overseen by certified individuals, teams,coaches, teachers, neighbors, academics, parents, cooperatives,parishes, friends, etc.

A universal incentive award points program creates an equal opportunityfor any student to use their a universal incentive award points at anyparticipating University, College, Community College, Trade School,Performing Arts Institution, etc. Under a universal incentive awardpoints program, students will receive a universal incentive award pointsto be used at all participating academic and non-academic sponsors tobetter improve their higher learning and quality of life.

One current solution to pay for institutions, on a college level, is toaward scholarships, room, board and any incentives generated throughalumni and endowment funding. Such financial is available to collegestudents through conformed scholarships and awarded grants from alumniprograms. Athletic scholarships are also used to provide financial aid.However, such financial aid is not available to all students.

It is also desirable to have a universal incentive award points basedprogram where all students, including international students earnuniversal incentive award points via selected activities (e.g.,community service, etc.) to redeem for college costs and other goods orservices. The goods and services include those donated by corporatesponsors that will donate their goods or services as a tax-free writeoff.

However, are a number of problems associated with creating, providingand using universal incentive award points.

One problem is that universal incentive award points do not exist foracademic, athletic, volunteering, extra-curricular activities, clubs,community service and/or other selected activities.

Another problem is that universal incentive award points cannot beeasily made available with transparency, authentication, verificationand fraud prevention.

Another problem is that universal incentive award points cannot beeasily created, stored, verified and then immediately redeemed for goodsand services.

Thus, it is desirable to solve some of the problems associated withincentive award points.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention, someof the problems associated with providing incentive awards are overcome.A method and system for providing electronic universal incentive awardswith blockchains is presented.

Universal incentive award points are earned for academic (e.g.,tutoring, homework completion, lab completion, project completion, etc.)athletic (e.g., watching sports events, participating in sports events,assisting with sports events, etc.), mentoring, volunteering,extra-curricular activities, clubs, community service and/or otherselected activities. The universal incentive award points earned arestored in a blockchain. The blockchain allows the creation and use ofuniversal electronic universal incentive award points with transparency,authentication, verification and fraud prevention. The universalincentive award points are immediately redeemable from the blockchainfor goods and services. The incentive award points information can beimmediately sent and received with wireless, contactless transfer ofinformation.

The foregoing and other features and advantages of preferred embodimentsof the present invention will be more readily apparent from thefollowing detailed description. The detailed description proceeds withreferences to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described withreference to the following drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary electronic universalincentive awards processing and display system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary electronic universalincentive awards display system;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary networking protocolstack;

FIG. 4 is block diagram illustrating an exemplary cloud communicationsnetwork;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary cloud storageobject;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating wearable network devices;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for providing electronicuniversal incentive awards processing with blockchains;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary blockchain;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a method for providing electronicuniversal incentive awards processing with blockchains;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a method for providingelectronic universal incentive awards processing with blockchains;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating data flow for the Method of FIG.10; and

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a method for providingelectronic universal incentive awards processing with blockchains.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Exemplary Electronic UniversalIncentive Awards Processing and Display System

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary electronic universalincentive awards processing and display system 10 for sending andreceiving electronic messages for creating and processing universalincentive awards. The exemplary electronic system 10 includes, but isnot limited to, one or more target network devices 12, 14, 16, etc. eachwith one or more processors and each with a non-transitory computerreadable medium.

The one or more target network devices 12, 14, 16 (illustrated in FIG. 1only as a tablet and two smart phones for simplicity) include, but arenot limited to, desktop and laptop computers, tablet computers, mobilephones, non-mobile phones with displays, smart phones, Internet phones,Internet appliances, personal digital/data assistants (PDA), portable,handheld and desktop video game devices, Internet of Things (IoT)devices, cable television (CATV), satellite television (SATV) andInternet television set-top boxes, digital televisions including highdefinition television (HDTV), three-dimensional (3DTV) televisions,wearable network devices 106-112 (FIG. 6), smart speakers 31 and/orother types of network devices.

A “smart phone” is a mobile phone 14 that offers more advanced computingability and connectivity than a contemporary basic feature phone. Smartphones and feature phones may be thought of as handheld computersintegrated with a mobile telephone, but while most feature phones areable to run applications based on platforms such as JAVA ME, a smartphone usually allows the user to install and run more advancedapplications. Smart phones and/or tablet computers run completeoperating system software providing a platform for applicationdevelopers.

The tablet computers 12 include, but are not limited to, tabletcomputers such as the IPAD, by APPLE, Inc., the HP Tablet, by HEWLETTPACKARD, Inc., the PLAYBOOK, by RIM, Inc., the TABLET, by SONY, Inc.,etc.

A “smart speaker” 31 is a type of wireless speaker and voice commanddevice with an integrated virtual assistant that offers interactiveactions and hands-free activation with the help of one “hot word” (orseveral “hot words”). Some smart speakers can also act as a smart devicethat utilizes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other wireless protocol standards toextend usage beyond audio playback, such as to control home automationdevices. This can include, but is not be limited to, features such ascompatibility across a number of services and platforms, peer-to-peerconnection through mesh networking, virtual assistants, and others. Eachcan have its own designated interface and features in-house, usuallylaunched or controlled via application or home automation software. Somesmart speakers also include a screen to show the user a visual response.

The IoT network devices, include but are not limited to, securitycameras, doorbells with real-time video cameras, baby monitors,televisions, set-top boxes, lighting, heating (e.g., smart thermostats,etc.), ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and appliances suchas washers, dryers, robotic vacuums, air purifiers, ovens,refrigerators, freezers, toys, game platform controllers, game platformattachments (e.g., guns, googles, sports equipment, etc.), and/or otherIoT network devices.

The target network devices 12, 14, 16 are in communications with a cloudcommunications network 18 or a non-cloud computing network 18′ via oneor more wired and/or wireless communications interfaces. The cloudcommunications network 18, is also called a “cloud computing network”herein and the terms may be used interchangeably.

The plural target network devices 12, 14, 16 make requests 13, 15 forelectronic messages via the cloud communications network 18 or non-cloudcommunications network 18′

The cloud communications network 18 and non-cloud communications network18′ includes, but is not limited to, communications over a wireconnected to the target network devices, wireless communications, andother types of communications using one or more communications and/ornetworking protocols.

Plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 (only four of which areillustrated) each with one or more processors and a non-transitorycomputer readable medium include one or more associated databases 20′,22′, 24′, 26′. The plural network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 are incommunications with the one or more target devices 12, 14, 16, 31,98-104 via the cloud communications network 18 and non-cloudcommunications network 18′.

Plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 (only four of which areillustrated) are physically located on one more public networks 76 (SeeFIG. 4), private networks 72, community networks 74 and/or hybridnetworks 78 comprising the cloud network 18.

One or more server network devices (e.g., 20, 22, 24, 26, etc.) storeportions 13′, 15′ of the electronic content 13, 15 as cloud storageobjects 82 (FIG. 5) as is described herein.

The plural server network devices 20, 22, 24 26, may be connected to,but are not limited to, World Wide Web servers, Internet servers, searchengine servers, vertical search engine servers, social networking siteservers, file servers, other types of electronic information servers,and other types of server network devices (e.g., edge servers,firewalls, routers, gateways, etc.).

The plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 also include, but arenot limited to, network servers used for cloud computing providers, etc.

The cloud communications network 18 and non-cloud communications network18′ includes, but is not limited to, a wired and/or wirelesscommunications network comprising one or more portions of: the Internet,an intranet, a Local Area Network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WiLAN), a WideArea Network (WAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), a Public SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN), a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) andother types of wired and/or wireless communications networks 18.

The cloud communications network 18 and non-cloud communications network18′ includes one or more gateways, routers, bridges and/or switches. Agateway connects computer networks using different network protocolsand/or operating at different transmission capacities. A router receivestransmitted messages and forwards them to their correct destinationsover the most efficient available route. A bridge is a device thatconnects networks using the same communications protocols so thatinformation can be passed from one network device to another. A switchis a device that filters and forwards packets between network segmentsbased on some pre-determined sequence (e g, timing, sequence number,etc.).

An operating environment for the network devices of the exemplaryelectronic information display system 10 include a processing systemwith one or more high speed Central Processing Unit(s) (CPU),processors, one or more memories and/or other types of non-transitorycomputer readable mediums. In accordance with the practices of personsskilled in the art of computer programming, the present invention isdescribed below with reference to acts and symbolic representations ofoperations or instructions that are performed by the processing system,unless indicated otherwise. Such acts and operations or instructions arereferred to as being “computer-executed,” “CPU-executed,” or“processor-executed.”

It will be appreciated that acts and symbolically represented operationsor instructions include the manipulation of electrical information bythe CPU or processor. An electrical system represents data bits whichcause a resulting transformation or reduction of the electricalinformation or biological information, and the maintenance of data bitsat memory locations in a memory system to thereby reconfigure orotherwise alter the CPU's or processor's operation, as well as otherprocessing of information. The memory locations where data bits aremaintained are physical locations that have particular electrical,magnetic, optical, or organic properties corresponding to the data bits.

The data bits may also be maintained on a non-transitory computerreadable medium including magnetic disks, optical disks, organic memory,and any other volatile (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM)) ornon-volatile (e.g., Read-Only Memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.) massstorage system readable by the CPU. The non-transitory computer readablemedium includes cooperating or interconnected computer readable medium,which exist exclusively on the processing system or can be distributedamong multiple interconnected processing systems that may be local orremote to the processing system.

Exemplary Electronic Content Display System

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary electronic universalincentive awards information display system 28. The exemplary electronicuniversal incentive awards display system 12′ includes, but is notlimited to a target network device (e.g., 12, etc.) with an application30 and a display component 32. The application 30 presents a graphicaluser interface (GUI) 34 on the display 32 component. The GUI 34 presentsa multi-window 36, 38, etc. (only two of which are illustrated)interface to a user.

In one embodiment of the invention, the application 30 is a softwareapplication. However, the present invention is not limited to thisembodiment and the application 30 can be hardware, firmware, hardwareand/or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the application 30includes a mobile application for a smart phone, electronic tabletand/or other network device. In one embodiment, the application 30includes web-browser based application. In one embodiment, theapplication 30 includes a web-chat client application. In anotherembodiment, the application 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d includes a cloudapplication used on a cloud communications network 18. However, thepresent invention is not limited these embodiments and other embodimentscan be used to practice the invention

In another embodiment, a portion of the application 30 is executing onthe target network devices 12, 14, 16, 31, 98-104 and another portion ofthe application 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d is executing on the servernetwork devices 20, 22, 24, 26. The applications also include one ormore library applications. However, the present invention is not limitedthese embodiments and other embodiments can be used to practice theinvention.

Exemplary Networking Protocol Stack

FIG. 3 a block diagram illustrating a layered protocol stack 38 fornetwork devices in the electronic message information display system 10.The layered protocol stack 38 is described with respect to InternetProtocol (IP) suites comprising in general from lowest-to-highest, alink 42, network 44, transport 48 and application 56 layers. However,more or fewer layers could also be used, and different layerdesignations could also be used for the layers in the protocol stack 38(e.g., layering based on the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) modelincluding from lowest-to-highest, a physical, data-link, network,transport, session, presentation and application layer.).

The network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26, 31, 98-104 are connectedto the communication network 18 with Network Interface Card (NIC) cardsincluding device drivers 40 in a link layer 42 for the actual hardwareconnecting the network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26, 31, 98-104 tothe cloud communications network 18. For example, the NIC device drivers40 may include a serial port device driver, a digital subscriber line(DSL) device driver, an Ethernet device driver, a wireless devicedriver, a wired device driver, etc. The device drivers interface withthe actual hardware being used to connect the network devices to thecloud communications network 18. The NIC cards have a medium accesscontrol (MAC) address that is unique to each NIC and unique across thewhole cloud network 18. The Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol is usedto provide a data link layer of an Ethernet LAN system and for othernetwork systems.

Above the link layer 42 is a network layer 44 (also called the InternetLayer for Internet Protocol (IP) suites). The network layer 44 includes,but is not limited to, an IP layer 46.

IP 46 is an addressing protocol designed to route traffic within anetwork or between networks. However, more fewer or other protocols canalso be used in the network layer 44, and the present invention is notlimited to IP 46. For more information on IP 46 see IETF RFC-791,incorporated herein by reference.

Above network layer 44 is a transport layer 48. The transport layer 48includes, but is not limited to, an optional Internet Group ManagementProtocol (IGMP) layer 50, a Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)layer 52, a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) layer 52 and a UserDatagram Protocol (UDP) layer 54. However, more, fewer or otherprotocols could also be used in the transport layer 48.

Optional IGMP layer 50, hereinafter IGMP 50, is responsible formulticasting. For more information on IGMP 50 see RFC-1112, incorporatedherein by reference. ICMP layer 52, hereinafter ICMP 52 is used for IP46 control. The main functions of ICMP 52 include error reporting,reachability testing (e.g., pinging, etc.), route-change notification,performance, subnet addressing and other maintenance. For moreinformation on ICMP 52 see RFC-792, incorporated herein by reference.Both IGMP 50 and ICMP 52 are not required in the protocol stack 38. ICMP52 can be used alone without optional IGMP layer 50.

TCP layer 54, hereinafter TCP 54, provides a connection-oriented,end-to-end reliable protocol designed to fit into a layered hierarchy ofprotocols which support multi-network applications. TCP 54 provides forreliable inter-process communication between pairs of processes innetwork devices attached to distinct but interconnected networks. Formore information on TCP 54 see RFC-793, incorporated herein byreference.

UDP layer 56, hereinafter UDP 56, provides a connectionless mode ofcommunications with datagrams in an interconnected set of computernetworks. UDP 56 provides a transaction oriented datagram protocol,where delivery and duplicate packet protection are not guaranteed. Formore information on UDP 56 see RFC-768, incorporated herein byreference. Both TCP 54 and UDP 56 are not required in protocol stack 38.Either TCP 54 or UDP 56 can be used without the other.

Above transport layer 48 is an application layer 57 where applicationprograms 58 (e.g., 30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d, etc.) to carry outdesired functionality for a network device reside. For example, theapplication programs 58 for the client network devices 12, 14, 16, 27,29, 31, 98-104 may include web-browsers or other application programs,application program 30, while application programs for the servernetwork devices 20, 22, 24, 26 may include other application programs(e.g., 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d, etc.).

In one embodiment, application program 30 includes an electronicuniversal incentive awards with blockchain application 30 a, cloudfunctionality application 30 b, an Artificial Intelligence (AI)application 30 c and/or other application 30 d. However, the presentinvention is not limited to such an embodiment and more, fewer and/orother applications can be used to practice the invention.

However, the protocol stack 38 is not limited to the protocol layersillustrated and more, fewer or other layers and protocols can also beused in protocol stack 38. In addition, other protocols from theInternet Protocol suites (e.g., Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, (SMTP),Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP),Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), DNS, etc.) and/or otherprotocols from other protocol suites may also be used in protocol stack38.

In addition, markup languages such as HyperText Markup Language (HTML),EXtensible Markup Language (XML) and others are used.

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is a markup language for creating webpages and other information that can be displayed in a web browser.

HTML is written in the form of HTML elements consisting of tags enclosedin angle brackets within the web page content. HTML tags most commonlycome in pairs although some tags represent empty elements and so areunpaired. The first tag in a pair is the start tag, and the second tagis the end tag (they are also called opening tags and closing tags). Inbetween these tags web designers can add text, further tags, commentsand other types of text-based content.

The purpose of a web browser is to read HTML documents and compose theminto visible or audible web pages. The browser does not display the HTMLtags, but uses the tags to interpret the content of the page.

HTML elements form the building blocks of all websites. HTML allowsimages and objects to be embedded and can be used to create interactiveforms. It provides a means to create structured documents by denotingstructural semantics for text such as headings, paragraphs, lists,links, quotes and other items. It can embed scripts written in languagessuch as JavaScript which affect the behavior of HTML web pages.

EXtensible Markup Language (XML) is another markup language that definesa set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is bothhuman-readable and machine-readable. It is defined in the XML 1.0Specification produced by the W3C, the contents of which areincorporated by reference and several other related specifications, allfree open standards.

XML a textual data format with strong support via Unicode for thelanguages of the world. Although the design of XML focuses on documents,it is widely used for the representation of arbitrary data structures,for example in web services. The oldest schema language for XML is theDocument Type Definition (DTD). DTDs within XML documents defineentities, which are arbitrary fragments of text and/or markup tags thatthe XML processor inserts in the DTD itself and in the XML documentwherever they are referenced, like character escapes.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention include network devicesand wired and wireless interfaces that are compliant with all or part ofstandards proposed by the Institute of Electrical and ElectronicEngineers (IEEE), International TelecommunicationsUnion-Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU), EuropeanTelecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), Internet Engineering TaskForce (IETF), U.S. National Institute of Security Technology (NIST),American National Standard Institute (ANSI), Wireless ApplicationProtocol (WAP) Forum, Bluetooth Forum, or the ADSL Forum.

Wireless Interfaces

In one embodiment of the present invention, the wireless interfaces onnetwork devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26, 31, 98-104 include but arenot limited to, IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.15.4(ZigBee), “Wireless Fidelity” (Wi-Fi), “Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access” (WiMAX), ETSI High Performance Radio Metropolitan AreaNetwork (HIPERMAN) or “RF Home” wireless interfaces. In anotherembodiment of the present invention, the wireless sensor device mayinclude an integral or separate Bluetooth and/or infra data association(IrDA) module for wireless Bluetooth or wireless infraredcommunications. However, the present invention is not limited to such anembodiment and other 802.11xx and other types of wireless interfaces canalso be used.

802.11b is a short-range wireless network standard. The IEEE 802.11bstandard defines wireless interfaces that provide up to 11 Mbps wirelessdata transmission to and from wireless devices over short ranges.802.11a is an extension of the 802.11b and can deliver speeds up to 54Mbps. 802.11g deliver speeds on par with 802.11a. However, other 802.11XXinterfaces can also be used and the present invention is not limited tothe 802.11 protocols defined. The IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11gstandards are incorporated herein by reference.

Wi-Fi is a type of 802.11xx interface, whether 802.11b, 802.11a,dual-band, etc. Wi-Fi devices include an RF interfaces such as 2.4 GHzfor 802.11b or 802.11g and 5 GHz for 802.11a.

802.15.4 (Zigbee) is low data rate network standard used for meshnetwork devices such as sensors, interactive toys, smart badges, remotecontrols, and home automation. The 802.15.4 standard provides data ratesof 250 kbps, 40 kbps, and 20 kbps., two addressing modes; 16-bit shortand 64-bit IEEE addressing, support for critical latency devices, suchas joysticks, Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance,(CSMA-CA) channel access, automatic network establishment by acoordinator, a full handshake protocol for transfer reliability, powermanagement to ensure low power consumption for multi-month to multi-yearbattery usage and up to 16 channels in the 2.4 GHz Industrial,Scientific and Medical (ISM) band (Worldwide), 10 channels in the 915MHz (US) and one channel in the 868 MHz band (Europe). The IEEE802.15.4-2003 standard is incorporated herein by reference.

WiMAX is an industry trade organization formed by leading communicationscomponent and equipment companies to promote and certify compatibilityand interoperability of broadband wireless access equipment thatconforms to the IEEE 802.16XX and ETSI HIPERMAN. HIPERMAN is theEuropean standard for metropolitan area networks (MAN).

The IEEE The 802.16a and 802.16g standards are wireless MAN technologystandard that provides a wireless alternative to cable, DSL and T1/E1for last mile broadband access. It is also used as complimentarytechnology to connect IEEE 802.11XX hot spots to the Internet.

The IEEE 802.16a standard for 2-11 GHz is a wireless MAN technology thatprovides broadband wireless connectivity to fixed, portable and nomadicdevices. It provides up to 50-kilometers of service area range, allowsusers to get broadband connectivity without needing direct line of sightwith the base station, and provides total data rates of up to 280 Mbpsper base station, which is enough bandwidth to simultaneously supporthundreds of businesses with T1/E1-type connectivity and thousands ofhomes with DSL-type connectivity with a single base station. The IEEE802.16g provides up to 100 Mbps.

The IEEE 802.16e standard is an extension to the approved IEEE802.16/16a/16g standard. The purpose of 802.16e is to add limitedmobility to the current standard which is designed for fixed operation.

The ESTI HIPERMAN standard is an interoperable broadband fixed wirelessaccess standard for systems operating at radio frequencies between 2 GHzand 11 GHz.

The IEEE 802.16a, 802.16e and 802.16g standards are incorporated hereinby reference. WiMAX can be used to provide a WLP.

The ETSI HIPERMAN standards TR 101 031, TR 101 475, TR 101 493-1 throughTR 101 493-3, TR 101 761-1 through TR 101 761-4, TR 101 762, TR 101763-1 through TR 101 763-3 and TR 101 957 are incorporated herein byreference. ETSI HIPERMAN can be used to provide a WLP.

In one embodiment, the plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26include a connection to plural network interface cards (NICs) in abackplane connected to a communications bus. The NIC cards providegigabit/second (1×10⁹ bits/second) communications speed of electronicinformation. This allows “scaling out” for fast electronic contentretrieval. The NICs are connected to the plural server network devices20, 22, 24, 26 and the cloud communications network 18. However, thepresent invention is not limited to the NICs described and other typesof NICs in other configurations and connections with and/or withoutbuses can also be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, of the invention, the wireless interfaces alsoinclude wireless personal area network (WPAN) interfaces. As is known inthe art, a WPAN is a personal area network for interconnecting devicescentered around an individual person's devices in which the connectionsare wireless. A WPAN interconnects all the ordinary computing andcommunicating devices that a person has on their desk (e.g. computer,etc.) or carry with them (e.g., PDA, mobile phone, smart phone, tablecomputer two-way pager, etc.)

A key concept in WPAN technology is known as “plugging in.” In the idealscenario, when any two WPAN-equipped devices come into close proximity(within several meters and/or feet of each other) or within a few milesand/or kilometers of a central server (not illustrated), they cancommunicate via wireless communications as if connected by a cable. WPANdevices can also lock out other devices selectively, preventing needlessinterference or unauthorized access to secure information. Zigbee is onewireless protocol used on WPAN networks such as cloud communicationsnetwork 18 or non-cloud communications network 18′.

The one or more target network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26, 31,98-104 and one or more server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 communicatewith each other and other network devices with near field communications(NFC) and/or machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.

“Near field communication (NFC)” is a set of standards for smartphonesand similar network devices to establish radio communication with eachother by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity,usually no more than a few centimeters. Present applications includecontactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup of morecomplex communications such as Wi-Fi. Communication is also possiblebetween an NFC device and an unpowered NFC chip, called a “tag”including radio frequency identifier (RFID) tags 99 and/or sensor.

NFC standards cover communications protocols and data exchange formats,and are based on existing radio-frequency identification (RFID)standards including ISO/IEC 14443 and FeliCa. These standards includeISO/IEC 1809 and those defined by the NFC Forum, all of which areincorporated by reference.

An “RFID tag” is an object that can be applied to or incorporated into aproduct, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and/ortracking using RF signals.

An “RFID sensor” is a device that measures a physical quantity andconverts it into an RF signal which can be read by an observer or by aninstrument (e.g., target network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26, 31,98-104, server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26, etc.)

“Machine to machine (M2M)” refers to technologies that allow bothwireless and wired systems to communicate with other devices of the sameability. M2M uses a device to capture an event (such as purchase, etc.),which is relayed through a network (wireless, wired cloud, etc.) to anapplication (software program), that translates the captured event intomeaningful information. Such communication was originally accomplishedby having a remote network of machines relay information back to acentral hub for analysis, which would then be rerouted into a systemlike a personal computer.

However, modern M2M communication has expanded beyond a one-to-oneconnection and changed into a system of networks that transmits datamany-to-one and many-to-many to plural different types of devices andappliances. The expansion of IP networks across the world has made itfar easier for M2M communication to take place and has lessened theamount of power and time necessary for information to be communicatedbetween machines.

However, the present invention is not limited to such wirelessinterfaces and wireless networks and more, fewer and/or other wirelessinterfaces can be used to practice the invention.

Wired Interfaces

In one embodiment of the present invention, the wired interfaces includewired interfaces and corresponding networking protocols for wiredconnections to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and/or acable television network (CATV) and/or satellite television networks(SATV) and/or three-dimensional television (3DTV), including HDTV thatconnect the network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26, 31, 98-104 viaone or more twisted pairs of copper wires, digital subscriber lines(e.g. DSL, ADSL, VDSL, etc.) coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, otherconnection media or other connection interfaces. The PSTN is any publicswitched telephone network provided by AT&T, GTE, Sprint, MCI, SBC,Verizon and others. The CATV is any cable television network provided bythe Comcast, Time Warner, etc. However, the present invention is notlimited to such wired interfaces and more, fewer and/or other wiredinterfaces can be used to practice the invention.

Television Services

In one embodiment, the applications 30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d providecloud SaaS 64 services and/or non-cloud application services fromtelevision services over the cloud communications network 18 orapplication services over the non-cloud communications network 18′. Thetelevision services include digital television services, including, butnot limited to, cable television, satellite television, high-definitiontelevision, three-dimensional, televisions and other types of networkdevices.

However, the present invention is not limited to such televisionservices and more, fewer and/or other television services can be used topractice the invention.

Internet Television Services

In one embodiment, the applications 30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d providecloud SaaS 64 services and/or non-cloud application services fromInternet television services over the cloud communications network 18 ornon-cloud communications network 18′ The television services includeInternet television, Web-TV, and/or Internet Protocol Television (IPtv)and/or other broadcast television services.

“Internet television” allows users to choose a program or the televisionshow they want to watch from an archive of programs or from a channeldirectory. The two forms of viewing Internet television are streamingcontent directly to a media player or simply downloading a program to aviewer's set-top box, game console, computer, or other network device.

“Web-TV” delivers digital content via broadband and mobile networks. Thedigital content is streamed to a viewer's set-top box, game console,computer, or other network device.

“Internet Protocol television (IPtv)” is a system through which Internettelevision services are delivered using the architecture and networkingmethods of the Internet Protocol Suite over a packet-switched networkinfrastructure, e.g., the Internet and broadband Internet accessnetworks, instead of being delivered through traditional radio frequencybroadcast, satellite signal, and cable television formats.

However, the present invention is not limited to such InternetTelevision services and more, fewer and/or other Internet Televisionservices can be used to practice the invention.

General Search Engine Services

In one embodiment, the applications 30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d providecloud SaaS 64 services and/or non-cloud application services fromgeneral search engine services. A search engine is designed to searchfor information on a cloud communications network 18 or non-cloudcommunications network 18′ such as the Internet including World Wide Webservers, HTTP, FTP servers etc. The search results are generallypresented in a list of electronic results. The information may consistof web pages, images, electronic information, multimedia information,and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data availablein databases or open directories. Unlike web directories, which aremaintained by human editors, search engines typically operatealgorithmically and/or are a mixture of algorithmic and human input.

In one embodiment, the applications 30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d providecloud SaaS 64 services and/or non-cloud application services fromgeneral search engine services. In another embodiment, the cloudapplications 30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d provide general search engineservices by interacting with one or more other public search engines(e.g., GOOGLE, BING, YAHOO, etc.) and/or private search engine services.

In another embodiment, the applications 30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 dprovide cloud SaaS 64 services and/or non-cloud application servicesfrom specialized search engine services, such as vertical search engineservices by interacting with one or more other public vertical searchengines (e.g., GALAXY.COM, etc.) and/or private search engine services.

However, the present invention is not limited to such general and/orvertical search engine services and more, fewer and/or other generalsearch engine services can be used to practice the invention.

Social Networking Services

In one embodiment, the applications 30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d providecloud SaaS 64 services and/or non-cloud application services from onemore social networking services including to/from one or more socialnetworking web-sites (e.g., FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM,etc.). The social networking web-sites also include, but are not limitedto, social couponing sites (e.g., GROUPON, etc.), dating web-sites,blogs, RSS feeds, and other types of information web-sites in whichmessages can be left or posted for a variety of social activities.

However, the present invention is not limited to the social networkingservices described and other public and private social networkingservices can also be used to practice the invention.

Security and Encryption

Network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26, 31, 98-104 with wired and/orwireless interfaces of the present invention include one or more of thesecurity and encryptions techniques discussed herein for securecommunications on the cloud communications network 18 or non-cloudcommunications network 18′.

Application programs 58 (FIG. 2) include security and/or encryptionapplication programs integral to and/or separate from the applications30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d. Security and/or encryption programs may alsoexist in hardware components on the network devices (12, 14, 16, 20, 22,24, 26, 31, 98-104) described herein and/or exist in a combination ofhardware, software and/or firmware.

Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) (also called “Wired EquivalentPrivacy) is a security protocol for WiLANs defined in the IEEE 802.11bstandard. WEP is cryptographic privacy algorithm, based on the RivestCipher 4 (RC4) encryption engine, used to provide confidentiality for802.11b wireless data.

RC4 is cipher designed by RSA Data Security, Inc. of Bedford, Mass.,which can accept encryption keys of arbitrary length, and is essentiallya pseudo random number generator with an output of the generator beingXORed with a data stream to produce encrypted data.

One problem with WEP is that it is used at the two lowest layers of theOSI model, the physical layer and the data link layer, therefore, itdoes not offer end-to-end security. One another problem with WEP is thatits encryption keys are static rather than dynamic. To update WEPencryption keys, an individual has to manually update a WEP key. WEPalso typically uses 40-bit static keys for encryption and thus provides“weak encryption,” making a WEP device a target of hackers.

The IEEE 802.11 Working Group is working on a security upgrade for the802.11 standard called “802.11i.” This supplemental draft standard isintended to improve WiLAN security. It describes the encryptedtransmission of data between systems 802.11X WiLANs. It also defines newencryption key protocols including the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol(TKIP). The IEEE 802.11i draft standard, version 4, completed Jun. 6,2003, is incorporated herein by reference.

The 802.11i standard is based on 802.1x port-based authentication foruser and device authentication. The 802.11i standard includes two maindevelopments: Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and Robust Security Network(RSN).

WPA uses the same RC4 underlying encryption algorithm as WEP. However,WPA uses TKIP to improve security of keys used with WEP. WPA keys arederived and rotated more often than WEP keys and thus provide additionalsecurity. WPA also adds a message-integrity-check function to preventpacket forgeries.

RSN uses dynamic negotiation of authentication and selectable encryptionalgorithms between wireless access points and wireless devices. Theauthentication schemes proposed in the draft standard include ExtensibleAuthentication Protocol (EAP). One proposed encryption algorithm is anAdvanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption algorithm.

Dynamic negotiation of authentication and encryption algorithms lets RSNevolve with the state of the art in security, adding algorithms toaddress new threats and continuing to provide the security necessary toprotect information that WiLANs carry.

The NIST developed a new encryption standard, the Advanced EncryptionStandard (AES) to keep government information secure. AES is intended tobe a stronger, more efficient successor to Triple Data EncryptionStandard (3DES).

DES is a popular symmetric-key encryption method developed in 1975 andstandardized by ANSI in 1981 as ANSI X.3.92, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. As is known in the art, 3DES is theencrypt-decrypt-encrypt (EDE) mode of the DES cipher algorithm 3DES isdefined in the ANSI standard, ANSI X9.52-1998, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. DES modes of operation are used inconjunction with the NIST Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)for data encryption (FIPS 46-3, October 1999), the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

The NIST approved a FIPS for the AES, FIPS-197. This standard specified“Rijndael” encryption as a FIPS-approved symmetric encryption algorithmthat may be used by U.S. Government organizations (and others) toprotect sensitive information. The NIST FIPS-197 standard (AES FIPS PUB197, November 2001) is incorporated herein by reference.

The NIST approved a FIPS for U.S. Federal Government requirements forinformation technology products for sensitive but unclassified (SBU)communications. The NIST FIPS Security Requirements for CryptographicModules (FIPS PUB 140-2, May 2001) is incorporated herein by reference.

RSA is a public key encryption system which can be used both forencrypting messages and making digital signatures. The letters RSA standfor the names of the inventors: Rivest, Shamir and Adleman. For moreinformation on RSA, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,829, now expired andincorporated herein by reference.

“Hashing” is the transformation of a string of characters into a usuallyshorter fixed-length value or key that represents the original string.Hashing is used to index and retrieve items in a database because it isfaster to find the item using the shorter hashed key than to find itusing the original value. It is also used in many encryption algorithms.

Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA), is used for computing a secure condensedrepresentation of a data message or a data file. When a message of anylength<2⁶⁴ bits is input, the SHA-1 produces a 160-bit output called a“message digest.” The message digest can then be input to other securitytechniques such as encryption, a Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) andothers which generates or verifies a security mechanism for the message.SHA-512 outputs a 512-bit message digest. The Secure Hash Standard, FIPSPUB 180-1, Apr. 17, 1995, is incorporated herein by reference.

Message Digest-5 (MD-5) takes as input a message of arbitrary length andproduces as output a 128-bit “message digest” of the input. The MD5algorithm is intended for digital signature applications, where a largefile must be “compressed” in a secure manner before being encrypted witha private (secret) key under a public-key cryptosystem such as RSA. TheIETF RFC-1321, entitled “The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm” isincorporated here by reference.

Providing a way to check the integrity of information transmitted overor stored in an unreliable medium such as a wireless network is a primenecessity in the world of open computing and communications. Mechanismsthat provide such integrity check based on a secret key are called“message authentication codes” (MAC). Typically, message authenticationcodes are used between two parties that share a secret key in order tovalidate information transmitted between these parties.

Keyed Hashing for Message Authentication Codes (HMAC), is a mechanismfor message authentication using cryptographic hash functions. HMAC isused with any iterative cryptographic hash function, e.g., MD5, SHA-1,SHA-512, etc. in combination with a secret shared key. The cryptographicstrength of HMAC depends on the properties of the underlying hashfunction. The IETF RFC-2101, entitled “HMAC: Keyed-Hashing for MessageAuthentication” is incorporated here by reference.

An Electronic Code Book (ECB) is a mode of operation for a “blockcipher,” with the characteristic that each possible block of plaintexthas a defined corresponding cipher text value and vice versa. In otherwords, the same plaintext value will always result in the same ciphertext value. Electronic Code Book is used when a volume of plaintext isseparated into several blocks of data, each of which is then encryptedindependently of other blocks. The Electronic Code Book has the abilityto support a separate encryption key for each block type.

Diffie and Hellman (DH) describe several different group methods for twoparties to agree upon a shared secret in such a way that the secret willbe unavailable to eavesdroppers. This secret is then converted intovarious types of cryptographic keys. A large number of the variants ofthe DH method exist including ANSI X9.42. The IETF RFC-2631, entitled“Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Method” is incorporated here by reference.

The HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) Secure (HTTPs), is a standardfor encrypted communications on the World Wide Web. HTTPs is actuallyjust HTTP over a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). For more information onHTTP, see IETF RFC-2616 incorporated herein by reference.

The SSL protocol is a protocol layer which may be placed between areliable connection-oriented network layer protocol (e.g. TCP/IP) andthe application protocol layer (e.g. HTTP). SSL provides for securecommunication between a source and destination by allowing mutualauthentication, the use of digital signatures for integrity, andencryption for privacy.

The SSL protocol is designed to support a range of choices for specificsecurity methods used for cryptography, message digests, and digitalsignatures. The security methods are negotiated between the source anddestination at the start of establishing a protocol session. The SSL 2.0protocol specification, by Kipp E. B. Hickman, 1995 is incorporatedherein by reference. More information on SSL is available at the domainname See “netscape.com/eng/security/SSL_2.html.”

Transport Layer Security (TLS) provides communications privacy over theInternet. The protocol allows client/server applications to communicateover a transport layer (e.g., TCP) in a way that is designed to preventeavesdropping, tampering, or message forgery. For more information onTLS see IETF RFC-2246, incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the security functionality includes Cisco CompatibleEXtensions (CCX). CCX includes security specifications for makers of802.11xx wireless LAN chips for ensuring compliance with Cisco'sproprietary wireless security LAN protocols. As is known in the art,Cisco Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. is supplier of networkinghardware and software, including router and security products.

However, the present invention is not limited to such security andencryption methods described herein and more, fewer and/or other typesof security and encryption methods can be used to practice theinvention. The security and encryption methods described herein can alsobe used in various combinations and/or in different layers of theprotocol stack 38 with each other.

Cloud Computing Networks

FIG. 4 is a block diagram 60 illustrating an exemplary cloud computingnetwork 18. The cloud computing network 18 is also referred to as a“cloud communications network” 18. However, the present invention is notlimited to this cloud computing model and other cloud computing modelscan also be used to practice the invention. The exemplary cloudcommunications network includes both wired and/or wireless components ofpublic and private networks.

In one embodiment, the cloud computing network 18 includes a cloudcommunications network 18 comprising plural different cloud componentnetworks 72, 74, 76, 78. “Cloud computing” is a model for enabling,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., public and private networks, servers, storage,applications, and services) that are shared, rapidly provisioned andreleased with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

This exemplary cloud computing model for electronic informationretrieval promotes availability for shared resources and comprises: (1)cloud computing essential characteristics; (2) cloud computing servicemodels; and (3) cloud computing deployment models. However, the presentinvention is not limited to this cloud computing model and other cloudcomputing models can also be used to practice the invention.

Exemplary cloud computing essential characteristics appear in Table 1.However, the present invention is not limited to these essentialcharacteristics and more, fewer or other characteristics can also beused to practice the invention.

TABLE 1 1. On-demand electronic universal incentive awards services.Automatic electronic universal incentive awards services canunilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time andnetwork storage, as needed automatically without requiring humaninteraction with each network server on the cloud communications network18. 2. Broadband network access. Automatic electronic universalincentive awards services capabilities are available over pluralbroadband communications networks and accessed through standardmechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick clientplatforms (e.g., mobile phones, smart phones 14, tablet computers 12,laptops, PDAs, etc.). The broadband network access includes high speednetwork access such as 3G, 4G and 5G wireless and/or wired and broadbandand/or ultra-broad band (e.g., WiMAX, etc.) network access. 3. Resourcepooling. Automatic electronic universal incentive awards servicesresources are pooled to serve multiple requesters using a multi-tenantmodel, with different physical and virtual resources dynamicallyassigned and reassigned according to demand. There is locationindependence in that a requester of services has no control and/orknowledge over the exact location of the provided by the electronicuniversal incentive awards service resources but may be able to specifylocation at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). Examples of pooled resources include storage, processing,memory, network bandwidth, virtual server network device and virtualtarget network devices. 4. Rapid elasticity. Capabilities can be rapidlyand elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quicklyscale out and rapidly released to quickly scale for electronic universalincentive awards service collaboration. For automatic electronicuniversal incentive awards service services, multi-media collaborationconverters, the automatic electronic universal incentive awards servicescollaboration and analytic conversion capabilities available forprovisioning appear to be unlimited and can be used in any quantity atany time. 5. Measured Services. Cloud computing systems automaticallycontrol and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability atsome level of abstraction appropriate to the type of automaticelectronic universal incentive awards services (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, custom electronic content retrieval applications,etc.). Electronic universal incentive awards services collaborationconversion usage is monitored, controlled, and reported providingtransparency for both the automatic electronic universal incentiveawards services provider and the automatic electronic universalincentive awards service requester of the utilized electronic contentstorage retrieval service.

Exemplary cloud computing service models illustrated in FIG. 4 appear inTable 2. However, the present invention is not limited to these servicemodels and more, fewer or other service models can also be used topractice the invention.

TABLE 2 1. Cloud Computing Software Applications 62 for electronicuniversal incentive awards processing services (CCSA, SaaS 64). Thecapability to use the provider's applications 30, 30a, 30b, 30c, 30drunning on a cloud infrastructure 66. The cloud computing applications62, are accessible from the server network device 20 from various clientdevices 12, 14, 16 through a thin client interface such as a webbrowser, etc. The user does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure 66 including network, servers, operating systems,storage, or even individual application 30, 30a, 30b, 30c, 30dcapabilities, with the possible exception of limited user- specificapplication configuration settings. 2. Cloud Computing Infrastructure 66for electronic universal incentive awards processing services (CCI 68).The capability provided to the user is to provision processing, storageand retrieval, networks 18, 72, 74, 76, 78 and other fundamentalcomputing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and runarbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications30, 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d. The user does not manage or control theunderlying cloud infrastructure 66 but has control over operatingsystems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited control ofselect networking components (e.g., host firewalls, etc.). 3. CloudComputing Platform 70 for electronic universal incentive awardsprocessing services (CCP 71). The capability provided to the user todeploy onto the cloud infrastructure 66 created or acquired applicationscreated using programming languages and tools supported servers 20, 22,24, 26, etc.. The user not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure 66 including network, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications 30a, 30b, 30c,30d and possibly application hosting environment configurations.

Exemplary cloud computing deployment models appear in Table 3. However,the present invention is not limited to these deployment models andmore, fewer or other deployment models can also be used to practice theinvention.

TABLE 3 1. Private cloud network 72. The cloud network infrastructure isoperated solely for electronic universal incentive awards processingservices. It may be managed by the electronic content retrieval or athird party and may exist on premise or off premise. 2. Community cloudnetwork 74. The cloud network infrastructure is shared by severaldifferent organizations and supports a specific electronic contentstorage and retrieval community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission,security requirements, policy, compliance considerations, etc.). It maybe managed by the different organizations or a third party and may existon premise or off premise. 3. Public cloud network 76. The cloud networkinfrastructure such as the Internet, PSTN, SATV, CATV, Internet TV, etc.is made available to the general public or a large industry group and isowned by one or more organizations selling cloud services. 4. Hybridcloud network 78. The cloud network infrastructure 66 is a compositionof two and/or more cloud networks 18 (e.g., private 72, community 74,and/or public 76, etc.) and/or other types of public and/or privatenetworks (e.g., intranets, etc.) that remain unique entities but arebound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enablesdata and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds, etc.)

Cloud software 64 for electronic content retrieval takes full advantageof the cloud paradigm by being service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperabilityfor electronic content retrieval. However, cloud software services 64can include various states.

Cloud storage of desired electronic content on a cloud computing networkincludes agility, scalability, elasticity and multi-tenancy. Although astorage foundation may be comprised of block storage or file storagesuch as that exists on conventional networks, cloud storage is typicallyexposed to requesters of desired electronic content as cloud objects.

In one exemplary embodiment, the applications 30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30d, offers cloud services for electronic universal incentive awardsprocessing. The application 30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d offers the cloudcomputing Infrastructure 66, 68 as a Service 62 (IaaS), including acloud software infrastructure service 62, the cloud Platform 70, 71 as aService 62 (PaaS) including a cloud software platform service 62 and/oroffers Specific cloud software services as a Service 64 (SaaS) includinga specific cloud software service 64 for electronic universal incentiveawards processing services. The IaaS, PaaS and SaaS include one or moreof cloud services 62 comprising networking, storage, server networkdevice, virtualization, operating system, middleware, run-time, dataand/or application services, or plural combinations thereof, on thecloud communications network 18.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram 80 illustrating an exemplary cloud storageobject 82. One or more server network devices (e.g., 20, 22, 24, 26,etc.) store portions 13′, 15′ of the electronic message content 13, 15(e.g., SMS, RCS, etc.) as cloud storage objects 82 (FIG. 5) as isdescribed herein.

The cloud storage object 82 includes an envelope portion 84, with aheader portion 86, and a body portion 88. However, the present inventionis not limited to such a cloud storage object 82 and other cloud storageobjects and other cloud storage objects with more, fewer or otherportions can also be used to practice the invention.

The envelope portion 84 uses unique namespace Uniform ResourceIdentifiers (URIs) and/or Uniform Resource Names (URNs), and/or UniformResource Locators (URLs) unique across the cloud communications network18 to uniquely specify, location and version information and encodingrules used by the cloud storage object 82 across the whole cloudcommunications network 18. For more information, see IETF RFC-3305,Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs), URLs, and Uniform Resource Names(URNs), the contents of which are incorporated by reference.

The envelope portion 84 of the cloud storage object 82 is followed by aheader portion 86. The header portion 86 includes extended informationabout the cloud storage objects such as authorization and/or transactioninformation, etc.

The body portion 88 includes methods 90 (i.e., a sequence ofinstructions, etc.) for using embedded application-specific data in dataelements 92. The body portion 88 typically includes only one portion ofplural portions of application-specific data 92 and independent data 94so the cloud storage object 82 can provide distributed, redundant faulttolerant, security and privacy features described herein.

Cloud storage objects 82 have proven experimentally to be a highlyscalable, available and reliable layer of abstraction that alsominimizes the limitations of common file systems. Cloud storage objects82 also provide low latency and low storage and transmission costs.

Cloud storage objects 82 are comprised of many distributed resources,but function as a single storage object, are highly fault tolerantthrough redundancy and provide distribution of desired electroniccontent across public communication networks 76, and one or more privatenetworks 72, community networks 74 and hybrid networks 78 of the cloudcommunications network 18. Cloud storage objects 82 are also highlydurable because of creation of copies of portions of desired electroniccontent across such networks 72, 74, 76, 78 of the cloud communicationsnetwork 18. Cloud storage objects 82 includes one or more portions ofdesired electronic content and can be stored on any of the 72, 74, 76,78 networks of the cloud communications network 18. Cloud storageobjects 82 are transparent to a requester of desired electronic contentand are managed by cloud applications 30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 d.

In one embodiment, cloud storage objects 82 are configurable arbitraryobjects with a size up to hundreds of terabytes, each accompanied bywith a few kilobytes of metadata. Cloud objects are organized into andidentified by a unique identifier unique across the whole cloudcommunications network 18. However, the present invention is not limitedto the cloud storage objects described, and more fewer and other typesof cloud storage objects can be used to practice the invention.

Cloud storage objects 82 present a single unified namespace orobject-space and manages desired electronic content by user oradministrator-defined policies storage and retrieval policies. Cloudstorage objects includes Representational state transfer (REST), SimpleObject Access Protocol (SOAP), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol(LDAP) and/or Application Programming Interface (API) objects and/orother types of cloud storage objects. However, the present invention isnot limited to the cloud storage objects described, and more fewer andother types of cloud storage objects can be used to practice theinvention.

REST is a protocol specification that characterizes and constrainsmacro-interactions storage objects of the four components of a cloudcommunications network 18, namely origin servers, gateways, proxies andclients, without imposing limitations on the individual participants.

SOAP is a protocol specification for exchanging structured informationin the implementation of cloud services with storage objects. SOAP hasat least three major characteristics: (1) Extensibility (includingsecurity/encryption, routing, etc.); (2) Neutrality (SOAP can be usedover any transport protocol such as HTTP, SMTP or even TCP, etc.), and(3) Independence (SOAP allows for almost any programming model to beused, etc.)

LDAP is a software protocol for enabling storage and retrieval ofelectronic content and other resources such as files and devices on thecloud communications network 18. LDAP is a “lightweight” version ofDirectory Access Protocol (DAP), which is part of X.500, a standard fordirectory services in a network. LDAP may be used with X.509 securityand other security methods for secure storage and retrieval. X.509 ispublic key digital certificate standard developed as part of the X.500directory specification. X.509 is used for secure management anddistribution of digitally signed certificates across networks.

An API is a particular set of rules and specifications that softwareprograms can follow to communicate with each other. It serves as aninterface between different software programs and facilitates theirinteraction and provides access to electronic universal incentive awardsprocessing services in a cloud or non-cloud environment. In oneembodiment, the API for electronic universal incentive awards processingservices is available to network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26, 31,98-104 and networks 18, 18′. However, the present invention is notlimited to such an embodiment and other embodiments can be used topractice the invention.

Wearable Devices

Wearable technology” and/or “wearable devices” are clothing andaccessories incorporating computer and advanced electronic technologies.Wearable network devices provide several advantages including, but notlimited to: (1) Quicker access to notifications. Important and/orsummary notifications are sent to alert a user to view the wholemessage. (2) Heads-up information. Digital eye wear allows users todisplay relevant information like directions without having toconstantly glance down; (3) Always-on Searches. Wearable devices providealways-on, hands-free searches; and (4) Recorded data and feedback.Wearable devices take telemetric data recordings and providing usefulfeedback for users for exercise, health, fitness, etc. activities.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram with 96 illustrating wearable devices. Thewearable devices include one or more processors and include, but are notlimited to, wearable digital glasses 98, clothing 100, jewelry 102(e.g., smart rings, smart earrings, etc.) and/or watches 104. However,the present invention is not limited to such embodiments and more, fewerand other types of wearable devices can also be used to practice theinvention.

In one specific embodiment, the application 30, 30 a, 30 b, 30 c, 30 dinteracts with wearable devices 98-104 automatic electronic universalincentive awards processing services the methods described hereinHowever, the present invention is not limited this embodiment and otherembodiments can also be used to practice the invention.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data

“Artificial intelligence” (AI), also known as machine intelligence (MI),is intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast to the naturalintelligence (NI) displayed by humans and other animals. AI research isdefined as the study of “intelligent agents.” Intelligent agents are anysoftware application or hardware device that perceives its environmentand takes actions that maximize its chance of successfully achieving itsgoals. Colloquially, the term “artificial intelligence” is applied whena machine mimics “cognitive” functions that humans associate with humanbrains, such as learning, problem solving and comparing large number ofdata points.

In one embodiment, the present invention uses one or more AI methodsincluding, but are not limited to, AI knowledge-based methods 30 c forelectronic universal incentive awards processing services. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and more, fewerand/or other AI methods can be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, SaaS 64 includes and AI application 30 c with the AImethods described herein. In another embodiment, the AI application 30 cis a standalone application. However, the present invention is notlimited to such an embodiment, and the AI application 30 c can beprovided in other than the SaaS 64.

“Big Data” refers to the use of predictive analytic methods that extractvalue from data, and to a particular size of data set. The quantities ofdata used are very large, at least 100,000 data points and moretypically 500,000 to 1 Million+ data points. Analysis of Big Data setsare used to find new correlations and to spot trends. In one embodiment,SaaS 64 includes and Big Data application 30 d with the Big Datadescribed herein.

In one embodiment, the AI methods described herein collect datainformation to create and store (e.g., in cloud storage object 82, etc.)a Big Data that is used to analyze trends find new correlations and tospot trends. However, the present invention is not limited to such anembodiment and the AI methods described herein can be used without BigData sets.

Short Message Service (SMS) Messaging

Short Message Service (SMS) is an electronic text messaging servicecomponent of phone, Web, or mobile communication systems. It usesstandardized communications protocols to allow fixed line or mobilephone devices to exchange short text messages.

SMS messages were defined in 1985 as part of the Global System forMobile Communications (GSM) series of standards as a means of sendingmessages of up to 160 characters to and from GSM mobile handsets. Thoughmost SMS messages are mobile-to-mobile text messages, support for theservice has expanded to include other mobile technologies as well assatellite and landline networks.

The SMS Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comments(RFC) 5724, ISSN: 2070-1721, 2010, is incorporated herein by reference.

Rich Communication Suite (RCS)

Rich Communications Suite/Rich Communications System (RCS) is acommunication protocol between mobile telephone carriers, between phonesand carriers, and between individual devices aiming at replacing SMSmessages with a message system that is richer, provides phonebookpolling (e.g., for service discovery, etc.), and can transmit in-callmultimedia. It is also marketed under the names of Advanced Messaging,Advanced Communications, Chat, joyn, Message+ and SMS+. RCS is also acommunication protocol available for device-to-device (D2D) exchangeswithout using a telecommunications carrier for devices that are in closephysical proximity (e.g., between two IoT devices, smart phones, smartphone and electronic tablet, etc.)

One advantage RCS Messaging has over SMS is that RCS enables users tosend rich, verified messages including photos, videos and audiomessages, group messages, read receipts, indicators to show other usersare typing a message, carousel messages, suggested chips, chat bots,barcodes, location integration, calendar integration, dialerintegration, and other RCS messaging features. RCS messaging includesperson-to-person (P2P), application-to-person (A2P),application-to-application (A2A), application-to-device (A2D) and/ordevice-to-device (D2D) messaging.

The RCS Interworking Guidelines Version 14.0, 13 Oct. 2017, GSMAssociation, Rich Communication Suite RCS API Detailed Requirements,version 3.0, Oct. 19, 2017, Rich Communication Suite 8.0 AdvancedCommunications Services and Client Specification Version 9.0, 16 May2018, RCS Universal Profile Service Definition Document Version 2.2, 16May 2018, and Rich Communication Suite Endorsement of OMA CPM 2.2Conversation Functions Version 9.0, 16 Oct. 2019, are all incorporatedherein by reference.

The Rich Communication Suite-Enhanced (RCS-e) includes methods ofproviding first stage interoperability among Mobile Network Operators(MNOs). RCS-e is a later version of RCS which enables mobile phone endusers to use instant messaging (IM), live video sharing and filetransfer across any device on any MNO.

The RCS functionality of the present invention includes, but is notlimited to, one and two way, rich, verified, multimedia messagesincluding photos, videos and audio messages, group messages, readreceipts, indicators to show other users are typing a message,predefined quick-reply suggestions, rich cards, carousels, actionbuttons, maps, click-to-call, calendar integration, geo-location, etc.The RCS functionality also includes RCS emulators and/or thin RCSapplications that provide full and/or selected features of available RCSfunctionality. A RCS message application and the RCS interoperabilityapplication provides full and/or partial RCS functionality including,but not limited to, RCS-e functionality.

Block Chains

A “blockchain” is a public ledger of all transactions that have everbeen executed. It is constantly growing as completed blocks are added toit with a new set of recordings. The blocks are added to the blockchainin a linear, chronological order. Blockchains are used on Peer-2-Peer(P2P) networks and other networks such as cloud communications networks.Each P2P node gets a copy of the blockchain, which gets downloadedautomatically upon joining P2P. The blockchain has complete informationabout the block owners and block content right from the first block tothe most recently completed block.

A “blockchain is also a digital ledger that records every transactionthat has ever occurred. Blockchains and transactions on blockchains aretypically protected by cryptography. More importantly, though, theblockchain does not reside in a single server, but across a distributednetwork of servers and computer such as a cloud computing network and aP2P computing network. Accordingly, whenever new transactions occur, anew blockchain is authenticated across this distributed network, thenthe transaction is included as a new “block” on the “chain.” A blockchain implementation comprises of two kinds of records: transactions andblocks.

“Transactions” are the content to be stored in the block chain (e.g.,financial transactions, etc.). Transactions are created by participantsusing the system. In the case of cryptocurrencies, a transaction iscreated any time a cryptocurrency owner sends cryptocurrency to someone.

A transaction is also a transfer of value between digital wallets thatgets included in the block chain. Digital wallets, including BITCOINwallets, store a secret piece of data called a “private key” or, whichis used to digitally sign transactions, providing a mathematical proofthat the digital signature has actually come from the owner of thedigital wallet.

System users create transactions that are passed from node to node on abest-effort basis. The system implementing the blockchain defines avalid transaction. In cryptocurrency applications, a valid transactionmust be digitally signed, spend one or more unspent outputs of previoustransactions, and the sum of transaction outputs must not exceed the sumof inputs.

Blocks record and confirm when and in what sequence transactions enterand are logged in the block chain. Blocks are created by users known as“miners” who use specialized software or equipment designed specificallyto create blocks.

In a cryptocurrency system, miners are incentivized to create blocks tocollect two types of rewards: a pre-defined per-block award, and feesoffered within the transactions themselves, payable to any miner whosuccessfully confirms the transaction.

BITCOIN is a digital cryptocurrency created in 2009. It follows theideas set out in a white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto, whose true identityhas yet to be verified. Bitcoin offers the promise of lower transactionfees than traditional online payment mechanisms and is operated by adecentralized authority, unlike government issued currencies. The 2009,whitepaper entitled, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-peer electronic cash system, bySatoshi Nakamato, bitcoin.org, is incorporated herein by reference.

There are no physical BITCOINS, only balances associated with public andprivate keys. These balances are kept on a public ledger, a blockchain,along with all BITCOIN transactions, that is verified by a massiveamount of computing power. A BITCOIN is defined as a chain of digitalsignatures. Each owner transfers the BITCOIN to a next owner bydigitally signing a hash a previous transaction and the public key of anext owner and adding these to the end of the BITCOIN.

BITCOIN and other blockchains use a pre-determined hash algorithm toturn an arbitrarily-large amount of data into a fixed-length hash. Thesame hash will always result from the same data, but modifying the databy even one bit will completely change the hash. Like all computer data,hashes are large numbers, and are usually written as hexadecimal.BitCoin uses the SHA-256 hash algorithm described herein to generateverifiably “random” numbers in a way that requires a predictable amountof CPU effort.

BITCOIN balances are kept using public and private encryption “keys,”which are long strings of numbers and letters linked through themathematical encryption algorithm that was used to create them. The“public key” (e.g., analogous to an account number) serves as an addresswhich is published to the world and to which others may send a BITCOIN.The “private key” (e.g., analogous to a secret private PIN, password,etc.) is meant to be a guarded secret, and only used to authorizeBITCOIN transmissions. Private BITCOIN keys of BITCOIN blocks are storedin digital wallets.

Other cryptocurrencies used to practice the invention, include, but arenot limited to, ETHEREUM, DOGECOIN, LITCOIN, and others. However, thepresent invention is not limited to the cryptocurrencies described andother cryptocurrencies can be used to practice the invention.

Blockchains are decentralized and do not require a “central authority”or “middleman.” Every node in a decentralized system has a copy of theblock chain. This avoids the need to have a centralized database managedby a trusted third party. Blockchain transactions are broadcast to anetwork using software applications. Network nodes can validatetransactions, add them to their copy and then broadcast these additionsto other nodes. To avoid the need for a trusted third party to timestamptransactions, decentralized block chains use various timestampingschemes, such as proof-of-work.

The core advantages of the block chain architecture include, but are notlimited to those described in Table 4.

TABLE 4 The ability for independent nodes to converge on a consensus ofthe latest version of a large data set such, as a ledger, even when thenodes are run anonymously, have poor interconnectivity and haveoperators who are dishonest or malicious. The ability for anywell-connected node to determine, with reasonable certainty, whether atransaction does or does not exist in the data set. The ability for anynode that creates a transaction to, after a confirmation period,determine with a reasonable level of certainty whether the transactionis valid, able to take place and become final (i.e., that no conflictingtransactions were confirmed into the block chain elsewhere that wouldinvalidate the transaction, such as the same currency units“double-spent” somewhere else). A prohibitively high cost to attempt torewrite or alter transaction history. Automated conflict resolution thatensures that conflicting transactions (such as two or more attempts tospend the same balance in different places) never become part of theconfirmed data set.

A “digital wallet” is a software program where blockchains are stored. Adigital wallet stores a private encryption key for every blockchainaddress that is saved in the digital wallet of the person who owns thebalance. Digital wallets facilitate sending and receiving blockchainsand gives ownership of the blockchain balance, if it includes financialinformation such as BITCOINS, to a user.

A digital wallet stored on a communications network, allows a user touse blockchains (e.g., BITCOINS, etc.) from anywhere, on any browserand/or any mobile network device and/or any smart network device and/orany wearable network device. Storing a digital wallet must be donecarefully since it stores private encryption keys for the blockchainsonline

Automatic Electronic Universal Incentive Awards Processing withBlockchains

FIG. 7 is flow diagram illustrating a Method 106 for automaticallyproviding electronic universal incentive awards processing withblockchains.

In FIG. 7 at Step 108, a server incentive awards application on a servernetwork device with one or more processors creates a list of pluralactivities that earn incentive award points when completed. At Step 110,a pre-determined number of incentive award points are assigned by theserver incentive awards application on the server network device to eachof the activities in the list of plural activities that earn incentivepoints when completed. At Step 112, a first awards message is receivedon a server incentive awards application on a server network device withone or more processors via a communications network from an incentiveawards application on a target network device with one or moreprocessors. The first awards message includes: (1) a unique identifierfor the target network device; and (2) an indication that a selectedactivity has been completed for earning universal incentive awardpoints. At Step 114, the server incentive awards application on theserver network device creates a blockchain entry on a block chain ledgerin a blockchain with data fields including: (1) the unique identifierfor the target network device; (2) the completed selected activity; and(3) a pre-determined number of awards points for the completed selectedactivity. At Step 116, the server incentive awards application on theserver network device sends a second awards message via thecommunications network to the incentive awards application on the targetnetwork device indicating the pre-determined number of award pointsearned for completing selective activity.

Method 106 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can also be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment, in FIG. 7 at Step 108, a serverincentive awards application 30 a on a server network device 20, 22, 24,26 with one or more processors creates a list 134 of plural activities136 that earn incentive award points 138 when completed.

At Step 110, the server incentive awards application 30 a on the servernetwork device 20, 22, 24, 26 assigns a pre-determined number ofincentive award points 138 to each of the activities in the list 134 ofplural activities that earn incentive points 138 when completed.

At Step 112, a first awards message 13, 15 is received on a serverincentive awards application 30 a on a server network device 20, 22, 24,26 with one or more processors via a communications network 18, 18′ froman incentive awards application 30 on a target network device 12, 14,16, 31, 98-104 with one or more processors. The first awards messageincludes: (1) a unique identifier for the target network device 12, 14,16, 31, 98-104; and (2) an indication that a selected activity has beencompleted for earning universal incentive award points.

In one embodiment, the server network device 20, 22, 24, 26 includes anelectronic kiosk server network device. However, the present inventionis not limited to such an embodiment and other embodiments may be usedto practice the invention.

The unique identifier includes, but is not limited to, a Globally UniqueIdentifier (GUID), Universally Unique Identifier (QUID), telephonenumber, social media identifier, e-mail identifier, network identifier(e.g., IP address, Wi-Fi network identifier, etc.), internal deviceidentifier, etc. However, the present invention is not limited to suchembodiments and other embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

The selected activity includes, but is not limited to, academic (e.g.,tutoring, homework completion, lab completion, project completion, etc.)athletic (e.g., watching sports events, participating in sports events,assisting with sports events, etc.), mentoring, volunteering,extra-curricular activities, clubs, community service and/or otherselected activities. However, the present invention is not limited tosuch embodiments and other embodiments can be used to practice theinvention.

The first awards message, includes but is not limited to, a wirelesselectronic message sent from the target network device 12, 14, 16, 31,98-104 with a wireless NFC protocol and/or M2M protocol message, and/ora combination of NFC and/or M2M protocol messages. NFC is a method ofwireless data transfer that allows smartphones, laptops, tablets, andother network devices 12, 14, 16, 31, 98-104 to share data when in closeproximity. NFC provides contactless transfer of information.

NFC technology is also used for contactless payments via mobile walletslike APPLE Pay, GOOGLE Pay, etc. as well as contactless payment cardsincluding credit cards, debit cards, etc. However, the present inventionis not limited to such embodiments and other embodiments can be used topractice the invention including other wireless and wired protocols.

M2M uses a network device 12, 14, 16, 31, 98-104 to capture an event(such as completing an activity, completing a purchase, etc.), in acontactless manner, which is relayed through a network (wireless, wired,cloud, etc.) 18, 18′ to an application (e.g., software program) 30, 30a, that translates the captured event into meaningful information.

However, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments withNFC and/or M2M protocols and other embodiments with other communicationsprotocols can be used to practice the invention.

A “blockchain” is a chronologically updated and distributed digitalrecord that comes with cryptographic protection. It can be compared to alinear chain of blocks where every block stores information and isconnected to another block and the entire network is shared among theparticipants. This chain of blocks, called a “ledger,” records andhouses the data that is transferred amongst the participants. Each ofthe participants in this shared network is able to see the originalinformation. After data is entered into a blockchain record, it cannotbe deleted. Every block in the blockchain has a permanent timestamp thatindicates authentication and verification and fraud prevention.

The blockchain 120 allows the creation and use of universal electronicuniversal incentive awards processing with transparency, authentication,verification and fraud prevention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram 118 illustrating an exemplary blockchain 120.

The blockchain 120 includes a blockchain ledger 122 with pluralblockchain blocks 122, 124, 126 (only three of which are illustrated forsimplicity) in which include one or more items, and plural transactions130, 132 (only two of which are illustrated). Exemplary transaction 130includes, for example, includes taking Owner-B's public key for block126 in blockchain 120, running it through a hash algorithm (e.g.,SHA-256, etc.) and obtaining Owner-A's digital signature, Owner-B signsthe block 126 with its private key and Owner-B's signature is verifiedon the next block 128, etc. Transaction 130 includes identical steps aswas illustrated in transaction 128. However, the present invention isnot limited to this embodiment, and more fewer or other exemplaryblockchain transactions can be used to practice the invention.

Returning to FIG. 7 at Step 114, the server incentive awards application30 a on the server network device 20, 22, 24, 26 creates a blockchainentry 122, 124, 126 in a blockchain ledger 122 on a block chain 120 withdata field items including, but not limited to: (1) the uniqueidentifier for the target network device; (2) the completed selectedactivity; and (3) a pre-determined number of awards points for thecompleted selected activity.

In one embodiment, the server incentive awards application 30 a on theserver network device 20, 22, 24, 26 stores the first awards message inone or more cloud storage objects 13/82, 15/82 on a cloud communicationsnetwork 18. However, present invention is not limited to such andembodiment and other embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, the pre-determined number of awards points for thecompleted selected activity, includes for example, varying number ofaward points assigned to each of the selected activities. For example,15 points for completing a school project, 1 point for watching anschool athletic event, 10 points for volunteering, 25 points forextra-curricular activities and clubs, 20 points for community service,etc. However, the present invention is not limited to such embodimentsand other embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

At Step 116, the server incentive awards application 30 a on the servernetwork device 20, 22, 24, 26 sends a second awards message 13′,15′ viathe communications network 18, 18′ to the incentive awards application30 on the target network device 12, 14, 16, 31, 98-104 indicating thepre-determined number of earned for completing the selected activity.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a Method 140 for providingelectronic universal incentive awards processing with blockchains.

In FIG. 9 at Step 142, a first awards redemption message is received ona server incentive awards application on a server network device withone or more processors via a communications network from an incentiveawards application on a target network device with one or moreprocessors. The first message includes: (1) a unique identifier for thetarget network device; (2) a number of universal incentive award pointsto be redeemed; and (3) one or more items the universal incentive awardpoints are to be redeemed for. At Step 144, the server incentive awardsapplication on the server network device retrieves a blockchain entry ona block chain ledger for the target network device. At Step 146, theserver incentive awards application on server network device subtractsthe number of universal incentive award points to be redeemed from atotal number of available award points on the blockchain entry on ablock chain ledger for the target network device. At Step 148, theserver incentive awards application on the server network device sends asecond awards redemption message via the communications network to theincentive awards application on the target network device includingunique electronic access information for the one or more items theuniversal incentive award points are to be redeemed for.

Method 140 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can also be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment, in FIG. 9 at Step 142, a first awardsredemption message is received on a server incentive awards application30 a on a server network device 20, 22, 24, 26 with one or moreprocessors via a communications network 18, 18′ from an incentive awardsapplication 30 on a target network device 12, 14, 16, 31, 98-104 withone or more processors. The first awards redemption message includes:(1) a unique identifier for the target network device; (2) a number ofuniversal incentive award points to be redeemed; and (3) one or moreitems the universal incentive award points are to be redeemed for.

The universal incentive award points are redeemed for goods (e.g., anactual product, food, clothing, shoes, a gift card, etc.) and/orservices (e.g., a haircut, transportation, etc.).

In one specific embodiment, the goods and services described hereininclude those donated by corporate sponsors and educational sponsorsthat will donate their goods or services as a tax-free write off. Thecorporate and educational sponsors also provide internships,apprenticeships, scholarships and/or sponsorships, etc. that areredeemed using universal incentive award points. However, the presentinvention is not limited to such an embodiment and other embodiments andother methods may be used to practice the invention.

At Step 144, the server incentive awards application 30 a on the servernetwork device 20, 22, 24, 26 retrieves a blockchain entry 124, 126, 128on a block chain ledger 122 on a blockchain 120 for the target networkdevice 12, 14, 16, 31, 98-104.

At Step 146, the server incentive awards application 30 a on servernetwork device 20, 22, 24, 26 subtracts the number of universalincentive award points to be redeemed from a total number of availableaward points on the blockchain entry 124, 126, 128 on a block chainledger 122 on a blockchain 120 for the target network device 12, 14, 16,31, 98-104.

At Step 148, the server incentive awards application 30 a on the servernetwork device 20, 22, 24, 26 sends a second awards redemption messagevia the communications network 18, 18′ to the incentive awardsapplication 30 on the target network device 12, 14, 16, 31, 98-104including unique electronic access information for the one or more itemsthe universal incentive award points are to be redeemed for.

The unique electronic access information for the one or more items theuniversal incentive award points are to be redeemed for, includes, butis not limited to, a cryptocurrency (e.g., BITCOIN, ETHEREUM, DOGECOIN,LITECOIN, etc.) an electronic coupon used to provide a discount on apurchase of a good or service, an electronic financial code allowing forelectronic transfer of money and/or electronic credits for fees and/orpayments due and owing, an electronic redemption code for a good and/ora service, etc. However, the present invention is not limited to such anembodiment and other embodiments may be used to practice the invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a Method 150 for providingelectronic universal incentive awards processing with blockchains.

In one embodiment, Method 106 from FIG. 7 is executed before the methodsin FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 to create the incentive awards categories, pointstotals and store them in the blockchain 120 for plural users. However,the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments and other methods may be used to practice the invention.

In FIG. 10 at Step 152, a target device awards request message isreceived on a first incentive awards application on a first supervisorytarget network device with one or more processors via a communicationsnetwork from a second incentive awards application on a second targetnetwork device with one or more processors. The target device awardsrequest message includes: (1) a unique identifier for the second targetnetwork device; and (2) an indication that a selected activity has beencompleted for earning universal incentive award points on the secondtarget network device. At Step 154, the first incentive awardsapplication on the first supervisory target network device sends aserver request message via the communications network to a serverincentive awards application on a server network device with one or moreprocessor to request recording the universal incentive award pointsearned on the second target network device on the blockchain. At Step156, the first incentive awards application on the first supervisorytarget network device receives server response message from the serverincentive awards application on the server network device via thecommunications network confirming recording of the earned universalincentive points and a number of points earned on the blockchain. AtStep 158, the first incentive awards application on the firstsupervisory target network device sends a target device response messagevia the communications network to the second incentive awardsapplication on the second target network device confirming andindicating in real-time a number of universal incentive award pointsactually earned on the second target network device.

Method 150 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can also be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment, in FIG. 10 at Step 152, a target deviceaward request message is received on a first incentive awardsapplication 30 on a first supervisory target network device (e.g. 14,etc.) with one or more processors via a communications network 18, 18′from a second incentive awards application 30′ on a second targetnetwork device (e.g., 16, etc.) with one or more processors. The targetdevice award request message includes: (1) a unique identifier for thesecond target network device 16; and (2) an indication that a selectedactivity has been completed for earning universal incentive awardpoints.

The first supervisory target network device 14 includes, but is notlimited to, a supervisory target network device 14 that is used by ateacher, instructor, counselor, coach, pastor, minister, rabbi, priest,supervisor, community service organizer, club president, activitycommittee member, etc. However, the present invention is not limited tosuch an embodiment and other embodiments may be used to practice theinvention.

The second target network device 16, includes, but is not limited to, atarget network device used by a student and/or other person who desiresto earn universal incentive award points. However, the present inventionis not limited to such an embodiment and other embodiments may be usedto practice the invention.

At Step 154, the first incentive awards application 30 on the firstsupervisory target network device 14 sends a server request message viathe communications network 18, 18′ to a server incentive awardsapplication 30 a on a server network device 20, 22, 24, 26 with one ormore processors to request recording the earned earning universalincentive award points on the second target network device 16 on theblockchain 120.

At Step 156, the first incentive awards application 30 on the firstsupervisory target network device 14 receives a server response messagevia the communications network 18, 18′ from the server incentive awardsapplication 30 a on the server network device 20, 22, 24, 26, confirmingrecording of the earned universal incentive points and a number ofpoints earned on the second target network device 16 on the blockchain120.

At Step 158, the first incentive awards application 30 on the firstsupervisory target network device 14 sends a second target devicemessage via the communications network 18, 18′ to the second incentiveawards application 30′ on the second target network device 16 confirmingand indicating in real-time (e.g., one to five seconds, etc.) a numberof universal incentive award points actually earned on the second targetnetwork device 16.

In one embodiment, Method 150 is completed using the NFC and/or M2Mwireless protocols. In such an embodiment, a user of the second targetnetwork device 16 positions (e.g., waives, touches, etc.) the secondtarget network device 16 in close physical proximity (e.g., less thansix inches, etc.) to the first supervisory target network device 14 andautomatically and immediately receives a confirmation in real-time(e.g., one to five seconds, etc.) of a number of universal incentiveaward points actually earned. Thus, Method 150 is used directly andimmediately from a physical location at which the universal incentiveaward points are actually earned. The real-time conformation of pointsearned helps create, excitement, enthusiasm and/or satisfaction forparticipants. However, the present invention is not limited to such anembodiment and other embodiments and other methods may be used topractice the invention.

In one embodiment, Method 150 further includes Step 159 for displaying asummary report 174 (FIGS. 1 and 2) from the server incentive awardsapplication 30 a on the server network device 30 via the communicationsnetwork 18,18′ from the incentive awards application 30 on a displaycomponent 32, including but not limited to, a GUI 34 display componenton the target network device 12, 14, 16, 31, 98-104: (1) a numberpre-determined number of award points earned for completing selectedactivities, (2) a total number of universal incentive award pointsavailable to be redeemed; and (3) a list of items (e.g., goods and/orservices, etc.) the universal incentive award points were alreadyredeemed for (e.g., shoes, clothing, books, meals, tuition, etc.).However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment andother embodiments and other display methods and/or more, fewer and/orother types of display items may be used to practice the invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram 160 illustrating data flow for the Method ofFIG. 10.

FIG. 11 illustrates a first person 162 (e.g., a community servicesupervisor, etc.) including the first supervisory target network device14 and a second person 164 (e.g., a student, etc.) the second targetnetwork device 16 using the NFC protocol 166 to execute Method 150 todirectly and immediately record and confirm in real-time from a physicallocation at which the universal incentive award points are actuallyearned. However, the present invention is not limited to such anembodiment and other embodiments and other methods may be used topractice the invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a Method 168 for providingelectronic universal incentive awards processing with blockchains.

In FIG. 12 at Step 170, an electronic order for a product is generatedfrom a server incentive awards application on a server network devicewith one or more process with unique electronic access information theuniversal incentive award points are to be redeemed for on a targetnetwork device. At Step 172, the generated electronic order is sent fromthe server incentive awards application on the server network device viathe communications network to another server network device with one ormore processors to automatically purchase and ship the product to aphysical street address or email address provided by the target networkdevice.

Method 168 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can also be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment, in FIG. 12 at Step 170, an electronicorder for a product is generated from a server incentive awardsapplication 30 a on a server network device 20 with one or moreprocessors with unique electronic access information the universalincentive award points 138 are to be redeemed for a target networkdevice 12, 14, 16, 31, 98-104.

At Step 172, the generated electronic order is sent from the serverincentive awards application 30 a on the server network device 20 viathe communications network 18, 18′ to another server network device 22,24, 26 with one or more processors to automatically purchase and shipthe product to a physical street address (e.g., for physical products,etc.) or email address (e.g., for digital products such as electroniccontent, classes, online classes, digital music, audio, videos,pictures, etc.) provided by the target network device 12, 14, 16, 31,98-104.

However the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment andthe automatic generating of orders and the use of Method 168 and otherembodiments with and/or without using Method 168 can also be used topractice the invention.

A method and system for providing electronic universal incentive awardsprocessing with blockchains is described herein. Universal incentiveaward points are earned for academic (e.g., tutoring, homeworkcompletion, lab completion, project completion, etc.) athletic (e.g.,watching sports events, participating in sports events, assisting withsports events, etc.), mentoring, volunteering, extra-curricularactivities, clubs, community service and/or other selected activities.The universal incentive award points earned are stored in a blockchain.The blockchain allows the creation and use of universal electronicuniversal incentive award points with transparency, authentication,verification and fraud prevention. The universal incentive award pointsare immediately redeemable from the blockchain for goods and services.The incentive award points information can be immediately sent andreceived with wireless, contactless transfer of information. However,the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments and other methods may be used to practice the invention.

It should be understood that the architecture, programs, processes,methods and systems described herein are not related or limited to anyparticular type of computer or network system (hardware or software),unless indicated otherwise. Various types of specialized computersystems may be used with or perform operations in accordance with theteachings described herein.

In view of the wide variety of embodiments to which the principles ofthe present invention can be applied, it should be understood that theillustrated embodiments are exemplary only, and should not be taken aslimiting the scope of the present invention. For example, the steps ofthe flow diagrams may be taken in sequences other than those described,and more or fewer elements may be used in the block diagrams.

While various elements of the preferred embodiments have been describedas being implemented in software, in other embodiments hardware orfirmware implementations may alternatively be used, and vice-versa.

The claims should not be read as limited to the described order orelements unless stated to that effect. In addition, use of the term“means” in any claim is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6,and any claim without the word “means” is not so intended.

Therefore, all embodiments that come within the scope and spirit of thefollowing claims and equivalents thereto are claimed as the invention.

I claim:
 1. A method for providing electronic universal incentive awardprocessing with blockchains, comprising: creating on a server incentiveawards application on a server network device with one or moreprocessors, a list of a plurality of activities that earn incentiveaward points when completed; assigning a pre-determined number ofincentive award points to each of the activities in the created list ofplurality of activities that earn incentive points when completed fromthe server incentive awards application on the server network device;receiving a first awards message on the server incentive awardsapplication on the server network device via a communications networkfrom an incentive awards application on a target network device with oneor more processors, the first awards message including: (1) a uniqueidentifier for the target network device; and (2) an indication that aselected activity has been completed for earning universal incentiveaward points; creating on the server incentive awards application on theserver network device a blockchain entry on a blockchain ledger on ablockchain with data fields including: (1) the unique identifier for thetarget network device; (2) a description of the completed selectedactivity; and (3) a pre-determined number of awards points assigned forthe completing selected activity, the blockchain providing universalelectronic universal incentive awards with transparency, authentication,verification and fraud prevention; and sending in real-time from theserver incentive awards application on the server network device asecond awards message via the communications network to the incentiveawards application on the target network device indicating thepre-determined number of award points earned for completing selectiveactivity.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the unique identifier for thetarget network device includes a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID),Universally Unique Identifier (UUID), telephone number, social mediaidentifier, e-mail identifier, network identifier, or a unique internaldevice identifier.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the universalincentive award points include: academic award points for tutoring,homework completion, lab completion, project completion, athletic awardpoints for watching sports events, participating in sports events,assisting with sports events, mentoring award points, volunteering awardpoints, extra-curricular activities award points, club participationaward points or community service award points.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein the first awards message and the second award message includewireless messages comprising Near Field Communications (NFC) protocolmessages or Machine-2-Machine (M2M) communications protocol wirelessmessages, or a combination thereof.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein thetarget network device includes: desktop computers, laptop computers,tablet computers, mobile phones, non-mobile phones, smart phones,Internet phones, Internet appliances, personal digital/data assistants(PDA), portable, handheld video game devices, desktop video gamedevices, cable television (CATV) set-top boxes, satellite television(SATV) set-top boxes, Internet television set-top boxes, digitaltelevisions including high definition television (HDTV),three-dimensional (3DTV) televisions, wearable network devices, smartspeakers and Internet of Things (IoT), network devices.
 8. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the server network device and the target network deviceinclude one or more wireless communications interfaces comprising:cellular telephone, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.15.4(ZigBee), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Aware, RF Home, WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), ETSI High PerformanceRadio Metropolitan Area Network (HIPERMAN), Near Field Communications(NFC), Machine-to-Machine (M2M), Bluetooth or infra data association(IrDA), wireless communication interfaces.
 9. The method of claim 1wherein the server network device and the target network device securelysend and receive messages via the communications network using one ormore encryption or security methods.
 10. The method of claim 1 whereinthe communications network includes a cloud communications network andthe server incentive awards application includes a cloud Software as aService (SaaS) for providing electronic universal incentive awardprocessing with blockchains services.
 11. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: displaying from the server incentive awards application onthe server network device via the communications network on theincentive awards application on the target network device: (1) a numberpre-determined number of award points earned for completing selectedactivities, (2) a total number of universal incentive award pointsavailable to be redeemed; and (3) one or more items the universalincentive award points were already redeemed for.
 12. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: receiving a first awards redemption messageon the server incentive awards application on the server network devicevia the communications network from the incentive awards application onthe target network device, the first awards message including: (1) theunique identifier for the target network device; (2) a number ofuniversal incentive award points to be redeemed; and (3) one or moreitems the universal incentive award points are to be redeemed for;retrieving on server incentive awards application on the server networkdevice a blockchain entry on a block chain ledger for the target networkdevice; subtracting on the server incentive awards application on servernetwork device the number of universal incentive award points to beredeemed from a total number of available award points on the blockchainentry on a block chain ledger for the target network device; and sendingfrom the server incentive awards application on the server networkdevice a second awards redemption message via the communications networkto the incentive awards application on the target network deviceincluding unique electronic access information for the one or more itemsthe universal incentive award points are to be redeemed for.
 13. Themethod of claim 12 wherein the universal incentive award points areredeemed for goods or services.
 14. The method of claim 12 wherein theunique electronic access information for the one or more items theuniversal incentive award points are to be redeemed for includes: acryptocurrency, an electronic coupon to receive a discount on a good orservice, an electronic financial code allowing for electronic transferof money or for providing a credit for fees or payments due and owing,an electronic redemption code for a good or a service.
 15. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: receiving a target device awards requestmessage on a first incentive awards application on a first supervisorytarget network device with one or more processors via a communicationsnetwork from a second incentive awards application on a second targetnetwork device with one or more processors, the target device awardsrequest message including: (1) a unique identifier for the second targetnetwork device; and (2) an indication that a selected activity has beencompleted for earning universal incentive award points on the secondtarget network device; sending a server awards request message from thefirst incentive awards application on the first supervisory targetnetwork device via the communications network to the server incentiveawards application on the server network device to request recording theearned earning universal incentive award points recorded on the secondtarget network device on the blockchain; receiving a server awardsresponse message from the first incentive awards application on thefirst supervisory target network device via the communications networkfrom the server incentive awards application on the server networkdevice confirming recording of the earned universal incentive points anda number of points earned on the second target network device; andsending a target device awards response message from first incentiveawards application on the first supervisory target network device to thesecond incentive awards application on the second target network devicevia the communications network confirming and indicating in real-time anumber of universal incentive award points actually earned on the secondtarget network device.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the firstsupervisory target network device includes the supervisory targetnetwork device for a teacher, instructor, counselor, coach, pastor,minister, rabbi, priest, supervisor, community service organizer, clubpresident or activity committee member.
 17. The method of claim 15wherein the second target network device includes a second targetnetwork device for a student or other person who desires to earnuniversal incentive award points for a specific purpose.
 18. The methodof claim 15 further comprising: generating an electronic order for aspecific product from the server incentive awards application on theserver network device with the unique electronic access information theuniversal incentive award points are to be redeemed for the targetnetwork device; and sending the generated electronic order from theserver incentive awards application on the server network device via thecommunications network to another server network device with one or moreprocessors to automatically purchase and ship the product to a physicalstreet address or e-mail address provided by the target network device.19. A non-transitory computer readable having stored therein a pluralityof instructions for causing one or more processors to execute steps,comprising: creating on a server incentive awards application on aserver network device with one or more processors, a list of a pluralityof activities that earn incentive award points when completed; assigninga pre-determined number of incentive award points to each of theactivities in the list of plurality of activities that earn incentivepoints when completed from the server incentive awards application onthe server network device; receiving a first awards message on theserver incentive awards application on the server network device via acommunications network from an incentive awards application on a targetnetwork device with one or more processors, the first awards messageincluding: (1) a unique identifier for the target network device; and(2) an indication that a selected activity has been completed forearning universal incentive award points; creating on the serverincentive awards application on the server network device a blockchainentry on a blockchain ledger on a blockchain with data fields including:(1) the unique identifier for the target network device; (2) adescription of the completed selected activity; and (3) a pre-determinednumber of awards points assigned for the completing selected activity,the blockchain providing universal electronic universal incentive awardswith transparency, authentication, verification and fraud prevention;sending in real-time from the server incentive awards application on theserver network device a second awards message via the communicationsnetwork to the incentive awards application on the target network deviceindicating the pre-determined number of award points earned forcompleting selective activity; receiving a first awards redemptionmessage on the server incentive awards application on the server networkdevice via the communications network from the incentive awardsapplication on the target network device, the first awards messageincluding: (1) the unique identifier for the target network device; (2)a number of universal incentive award points to be redeemed; and (3) oneor more items the universal incentive award points are to be redeemedfor; retrieving on server incentive awards application on the servernetwork device a blockchain entry on a block chain ledger for the targetnetwork device; subtracting on the server incentive awards applicationon server network device the number of universal incentive award pointsto be redeemed from a total number of available award points on theblockchain entry on a block chain ledger for the target network device;sending from the server incentive awards application on the servernetwork device a second awards redemption message via the communicationsnetwork to the incentive awards application on the target network deviceincluding unique electronic access information for the one or more itemsthe universal incentive award points are to be redeemed for; anddisplaying from the server incentive awards application on the servernetwork device via the communications network from the incentive awardsapplication on the target network device: (1) a number pre-determinednumber of award points earned for completing selected activities, (2) atotal number of universal incentive award points available to beredeemed; and (3) a list of items the universal incentive award pointswere redeemed for.
 20. A system for providing electronic universalincentive award processing with blockchains, comprising in combination:for creating on a server incentive awards application on a servernetwork device with one or more processors, a list of a plurality ofactivities that earn incentive award points when completed; forassigning a pre-determined number of incentive award points to each ofthe activities in the list of plurality of activities that earnincentive points when completed from the server incentive awardsapplication on the server network device; for receiving a first awardsmessage on the server incentive awards application on the server networkdevice via a communications network from an incentive awards applicationon a target network device with one or more processors, the first awardsmessage including: (1) a unique identifier for the target networkdevice; and (2) an indication that a selected activity has beencompleted for earning universal incentive award points; for creating onthe server incentive awards application on the server network device ablockchain entry on a blockchain ledger on a blockchain with data fieldsincluding: (1) the unique identifier for the target network device; (2)a description of the completed selected activity; and (3) apre-determined number of awards points assigned for the completingselected activity, the blockchain providing universal electronicuniversal incentive awards with transparency, authentication,verification and fraud prevention; for sending in real-time from theserver incentive awards application on the server network device asecond awards message via the communications network to the incentiveawards application on the target network device indicating thepre-determined number of award points earned for completing selectiveactivity; for receiving a first awards redemption message on the serverincentive awards application on the server network device via thecommunications network from the incentive awards application on thetarget network device, the first awards message including: (1) theunique identifier for the target network device; (2) a number ofuniversal incentive award points to be redeemed; and (3) one or moreitems the universal incentive award points are to be redeemed for; forretrieving on server incentive awards application on the server networkdevice a blockchain entry on a block chain ledger for the target networkdevice; for subtracting on the server incentive awards application onserver network device the number of universal incentive award points tobe redeemed from a total number of available award points on theblockchain entry on a block chain ledger for the target network device;for sending from the server incentive awards application on the servernetwork device a second awards redemption message via the communicationsnetwork to the incentive awards application on the target network deviceincluding unique electronic access information for the one or more itemsthe universal incentive award points are to be redeemed for; and fordisplaying from the server incentive awards application on the servernetwork device via the communications network from the incentive awardsapplication on the target network device: (1) a number pre-determinednumber of award points earned for completing selected activities, (2) atotal number of universal incentive award points available to beredeemed; and (3) a list of items the universal incentive award pointswere already redeemed for on the target network device.